Best of the Simplest Life Covers in India

The uncertainty of life is the most certain thing about it. And, a term life insurance cover can be the best tool to deal with this “uncertainty”. A term life cover is the simplest form of life insurance which promises to secure your family’s financial future, even in your absence.

There are many options for term life covers in India. A quick internet search will show you various choices from well-known insurance companies in India. However, as a prospective buyer, you will have to do an informed research before you choose an insurance plan which is most suitable for your family based on your life stage needs.

While narrowing down on your choice, you should consider various factors such as guaranteed insurance coverage, personalised service assistance, convenience of purchase & claim filing, affordability & most importantly the insurer’s claims settlement percentage & financial health, etc. In the table below, we have given a quick comparison of some of the best options for you, to help you arrive at the best choice for your family’s secure financial future.

Here is a quick glance through some of the best options:

	ICICI-iProtect Smart Lumpsum	Max Life- Online Term Insurance Plus	HDFC Click2 Protect 3D Plus	Birla Sun Life- BSLI Protect@ Ease Lump Sum	Bajaj eTouch Lump Sum
Maximum Maturity	70 years	70 years	70 years	70 years	70years
Minimum Sum Assured	3 lakhs	25 lakhs	25 lakhs	30 lakhs	50lakhs
Claim Settlement Ratio	97%	98%	98%	94%	93%
Premium for 1 Crore cover	Rs 899/per month	Rs 737/per month	Rs 835/per month	Rs 840/per month	Rs 933/per month
Going by the basic life cover affordability, Max Life Online Term Insurance Plus tops the score. However, there are still many more factors to consider while choosing the policy.

Source: PolicyBazaar.com

While considering the expenses incurred for buying a basic life cover, affordability of premium should not be the only factor.

Another very crucial factor for deciding the best basic life cover in India is the claims payment capability which can be understood through the claim settlement ratio. Going by the percentage of claim settlement ratio, there are only a few life insurance companies which have maintained a good track record.

Claim settlement ratio indicates the total number of claims settled by the insurer in a year. The higher the claim settlement ratio, the better it is.

To decide among them, it is important to dig in deeper and find out- which company has registered the highest claim settlement record. You can arrive at this by looking at the number of additional claims the life insurance company received in a year and then mapping, how many have been cumulatively settled.

Like in case of Max Life, there were a total of 9,169 new claims (Source: Mintwise.com) made in 2015-16 with only six carried over from the previous year. It means most of their claims from 2014-15 were settled in the same year.

This figure provides assurance that the claims process at Max Life is smooth and trustworthy. Max Life has introduced the ‘Instaclaim’ feature which is for one day claims settlement. available for registered beneficiaries in all eligible policies, which have been active for a minimum of three years. It even appoints a personal claim assistant to the nominee to ensure a smooth and flawless process for them.

In comparison, HDFC Life had a total of 12,155 new claims made in 2015-16. And 275 claimswere carried over from the previous year, so the total claims made in the year were 12,430 (Source: Mintwise.com). Even though the number of claimswas almost 30% more than Max Life, so were the total rejections.

So, you need to be mindful while carrying out the comparison:

• If I am getting the same amount of benefit, why should I not go for the lowest premium?
• Where is the rejection ratio less?
• Where will I get more personalised attention?
• While buying a basic life cover, where will I have a faster experience?
• Is it available online?
• How easy is it to buy a basic life cover online?
• Which is the best life insurance company to buy a basic life cover online?

After having clarity on the basics, it is time to look at the rider options. Basic life covers has multiple rider options which help to maximize the benefits of the plan. Again, compare the affordability, ease of buying, convenience, benefits etc.

An additional point to remember while comparing rider options is to look at the definitive options. Max Life, for example, has critical illness + cancer protection cover, which helps us to acknowledge our health risk based on lifestyle risks or family history risks. If there is a risk of cancer in the family, then, it is only prudent and wise to choose a cancer insurance plan which can cover financial risks & liabilities that accompany the mental load of fighting the disease.

Wrapping Up:

Considering all the above stated factors, do a quick online comparison before you take your final decision. If you want to gather more information, go to the insurer’s website or even call up their customer care to know better.